


That One Night on Yavin IV

by bar2d2s



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Gen, M/M, Pre-Relationship, obvious romantic tension is my jam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 08:41:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13947933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bar2d2s/pseuds/bar2d2s
Summary: The rebellion wasn't established in a day, and a relationship can't be formed in a night, but there's always that turning point where you look at a person and you Realize.Set between Zero Hour and In the Name of the Rebellion.





	That One Night on Yavin IV

Zeb had been fast asleep when the distant  _clang_ of metal on stone sent him shooting up, his head hitting the top bunk. Someone was lowering the Ghost’s exit ramp.

He crept through the Ghost as lightly as he could manage, trying not to rouse Hera. She’d been working herself to exhaustion every day since their base moved to Yavin IV, and needed all the rest she could get. Chopper needed his nightly recharge as well, the normally difficult droid working even longer hours than his favorite person sometimes. There were moments when Zeb wasn’t sure Chopper entirely understood the point of the rebellion, other than seeing it succeed would make Hera happy, but his work was solid enough. No, there was only one person who would be up and about at this time of night, when the base was quiet and no one would bother him.

Zeb and Hera had been given their own individual quarters on Yavin IV, but with all of the new recruits and Rebel sympathizers showing up every other day to help the cause, they’d eventually decided to just go back to sleeping in their ship. And with Kanan, Ezra, and Sabine away, they’d had the excuse of space to keep the former Agent Kallus aboard, as well. His presence hadn’t exactly gone unnoticed or appreciated, especially by those from the Imperial Academies, who’d only known him by reputation. It had taken ages before he’d eat in the common mess with everyone else, and he still seemed convinced that any moment now, he’d be hauled off into a dark part of the temple base and stabbed by someone he’d wronged in the past.

When Zeb eventually found him, Kallus had climbed midway up the outside of the temple. He was looking up at the clear night sky, the bright orange of his loaned flightsuit making him stand out like a fruit on a tree. Zeb let out a sharp whistle and Kallus jumped, sighing in relief when he realized who it was.

 _Come here,_  he gestured down to Zeb, not wanting to shout while everyone was asleep. _Come up_.

It was a relatively easy climb for him, the stair-like indentations making ideal hand and footholds, but it would have been a decent workout for a human, especially a partially injured human like Kallus. That was probably why he’d stopped after reaching the first ‘landing’, a meager 30 meters from the ground. Zeb reached the human quickly, not even out of breath, and Kallus rolled his eyes.

“Show-off.” He muttered, but didn’t scoot over when Zeb planted himself directly next to him.

“This is the sorta thing I’m made for, Kal. You, on the other hand…” Zeb trailed off, not wanting to seem like he was outright questioning Kallus’ reasons for leaving in the middle of the night to essentially climb a mountain.

“I’m fine. Really.” He’d taken the top half of the flight suit off, tied the arms about his waist. The color of the tank he wore below it, grey, outed itself as one of the last pieces of his own clothing he still kept. The undershirt had been stained with blood last time Zeb saw it, but the only thing on it now was sweat, which soaked the neckline and under his arms. Kallus had put more effort into his climb than he was letting on.

“Sure you are. Nothing you can’t do, Kal.” Though the crew was now privy to the former agent’s given name, it didn’t feel right to use it so casually. Ezra had been the one to start calling Kallus by a shortened form of his surname, and it had just sort of…stuck. Kallus didn’t seem to  _dislike_ the nickname, at any rate, so there wasn’t much reason to stop using it. “Still, I gotta know. Why..?” Zeb gestured at the steps, then at Kallus himself, then at the steps again. Kallus shrugged, pointing up.

 _The view is so much better up here_.

They were getting good at nonverbal communication, almost too good. Zeb was finding that he could read Kallus from across a room now, little movements of his hands and shoulders speaking epics to him. It did help, if only because Kallus was still fairly uncomfortable speaking up in a room full of rebels that he was certain wanted him dead. He’d get better with time, though. His personality was simply too big to be contained to gestures alone.

Zeb sat quietly, watching the stars above, the dense forests below. He listened to Kallus breathe beside him, detecting little shifts of movement from time to time. His leg might be healed from their encounter on Bahryn so many months ago, but his injuries from Thrawn were still very fresh. Without a proper bacta tank on base, Kallus had needed to sleep with a cold pack on his bruised ribs, which were only just starting to heal.

“Do you know why I joined the Imperial Academy?” Kallus asked quite suddenly. Zeb looked away from the forest, only to find that Kallus was looking at him. The starlight made his face look softer, the bruises there less pronounced. “I was from a prominent family on Coruscant. The universe was open to me, if I wanted it. But I wanted to do something  _good_ with my life. Something _meaningful_.” He scowled, then winced as it stretched the bruise at the corner of his mouth.

“All sentient beings look for meaning in their lives, no problem with that.” Zeb offered. Hell, wanting to do something meaningful had been half the reason he’d applied to the honor guard, after all. Then it turned out that he was very, very good at his job, and they just kept  _promoting_ him until one day…Captain and personal guard to the royal family. He’d barely been 28 at the time. Life comes at you fast.

“I was drawn in by the prospect of bringing order to a chaotic universe. We were barely two years out of the Clone Wars when the first academies were established, and everything past the inner rim was being called wild space. I was so  _sure_ that order would restore the peace. But all the Empire  _really_ did was ruin lives. Ruin worlds.” He’s got his elbows on his knees now, his face in his hands. “And I was complicit in it because I was so terrified to admit to myself that I’d been wrong.”

With Kallus so close, practically pressed against him, Zeb found himself distracted. Sure, he heard every word the human said, but it was impossible to truly focus on the  _weight_ of what he said with Kallus just…sitting there. Smelling so very…nice. While the nights on Yavin IV were much cooler than the days, they were still terribly humid. Kallus had been sweaty from his climb, but the oppressive humidity hadn’t really allowed him to dry off. On the contrary, he almost seemed to be sweating _more_. It was a pleasant scent, with a tang to it Zeb could practically taste in the back of his throat. So when he reached out, wrapped an arm around Kallus’ back to grip him by the shoulder and haul him in close, it wasn’t for entirely altruistic reasons.

“You learned better.” Zeb said, subtly sniffing at the top of Kallus’ scalp. “You began to think for yourself, and then you used your rank to the rebellion’s advantage. You helped to save a lot of lives as Fulcrum, Kal, and while it’s going to be impossible to find another informant as well-connected and influential as you, I’m glad you’re safe here now.” His ear twitching in embarrassment as he played his words back in his head, Zeb hastily added, “And so is the rest of the crew.”

They were quiet for a while, long enough that Zeb was certain that the base was going to start waking up any minute. Instead of recoiling away from him, the way he’d done on Bahryn, Kallus seemed content to lean into him. He almost seemed asleep, though from the quickness of his breathing, Zeb knew that wasn’t the case. When he wasn’t being questioned by high command, Kallus liked to spend most of his time around him. He was a big help when it came to repairing the various crafts they’d liberated from the Empire, and even seemed to enjoy getting his hands dirty reassembling weapon packs and astromech units. He was a clever man. Zeb admired his work ethic.

“Zeb.” His name, said so very quietly, almost caused the larger being to jump.

“Yeah?” He replied gruffly, embarrassed again.

“I think I may need…if it wouldn’t be too much trouble…” Kallus made a frustrated noise, then jiggled his good leg a few times. _Ah_.

“Need a lift back down the temple?” Zeb asked, trying to keep the teasing notes out of his tone. Kallus already considered his occasionally sore leg to be a glaring flaw.

“If you would be so kind.” He replied, voice pinched. Zeb released his shoulder, tapping it as he raised his arms above his head. _You stand first_.

Stretching his bad leg out in front of him, Kallus placed both hands on one of Zeb’s thighs, pushing himself up as carefully as he could. His balance a bit off, Kallus clutched Zeb’s shoulder tightly until his sleeping good leg went back to normal. Then it was Zeb’s turn to stand and stretch, eventually crouching low so Kallus could climb onto his back.

“It’ll be just like old times!” He said cheerfully, and Kallus laughed.

“I hope not, I’d prefer not to be suspended from the ceiling again.”

With a hearty chuckle of his own, Zeb started the climb back down. He kept having to remind himself to go slow, as every time he went his desired speed, Kallus would gasp and lock his knees around the wide expanse of his chest. But while it was pleasant to have the human pressed so tightly against him, those surprisingly powerful legs of his seemed hellbent on knocking the wind out of him.

Finally, they reached the ground.

“See, safe and sound.” Zeb said as Kallus unlatched himself, only to hear a soft  _thump_ as his bad leg buckled under his weight, apparently strained from the climb. “Karabast! Are you-”

“I am _fine_.” Kallus hissed, banging his fist on the ground. Zeb frowned. There was no way Kallus was just going to let him help, but at the same time, there was  _also_ no way that he’d be able to get back to his borrowed room on the Ghost before dawn without Zeb physically carrying him there.

So he decided to do just that.

“What are you-” Kallus yelped as Zeb placed one arm beneath his knees with the other going around his back, scooping him up.

“Shut up and accept some help, Alexsandr.” He growled, and Kallus’ jaw snapped shut, face going beautifully pink.

The hangar was mercifully empty, any late-working techs having long since dragged themselves to bed, so no one was awake to witness their little walk of shame. Not that Zeb considered it as such; in actuality, he was having quite a good time. The scent he’d been admiring was now all over his clothes, and an embarrassed Kallus was almost…endearing. No. He  _was_ endearing.

 _Oh no_.

Zeb snuck back through the Ghost as quietly as he could, depositing Kallus on his borrowed bunk in Sabine’s room.

“You’re resting tomorrow.” He said, not allowing room for arguments. “I’ll bring you some files, you can weed out the fake leads from the real ones.” It was tedious work, but it could be done sitting down. A muscle was twitching in Kallus’ cheek, as though he was holding back a smile. “What?”

“Such concern. It’s almost touching, Captain Orrelios.” Zeb rolled his eyes at the poor attempt to get a rise out of him.

“Well, you’re a rebel now, and unlike the kriffing Empire, we actually care about our friends.” The pink flush was back, and Zeb almost laughed. “Get some sleep, Kal.”

As he turned to leave, Kallus called out to him. “You can- I’d find it perfectly acceptable if you wanted to call me Alex.”

The skin on the back of his neck prickled, fur standing on end. Calling the human  _Kal_ felt transgressive enough, but actual permission to use his given name? It was almost too much. "I'll, I'll uh, remember that." With a pleased noise, Kallus went to remove his boots, and Zeb took it as a sign he should go back to bed. "G'night K- ah. Alex. Rest that leg." There was a hum from behind him, and Zeb fought the urge to turn around.

"Goodnight, Garazeb. I'll be sure to wake you the next time I need to climb something in the middle of the night."

With a snort, Zeb headed back to his room. That inhale, however, brought the scent on his clothes into sharp relief, and his ears flattened to his head.

He likely wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon.


End file.
